Second Chance

Reset!

Noah couldn't believe it. It was impossible. His body had changed overnight, and it was all because of this mysterious app. Was that dream also involved? He asked himself and began to explore the app some more. 

The three horizontal lines to access the menu were a standard user interface, all with the black and gold color scheme. He clicked on the menu that expanded down the left side of the screen. It had a list of options; Profile, skills, inventory, social along with some that just said, coming soon. 

Noah clicked on the profile, and a cartoon version of his body popped on the screen. Around it was different stats all set to ten. Strength, dexterity, intelligence, constitution, charisma, and luck. Above his character was his name. Noah Stroud: The Prisoner. The prisoner must be his title, and now the dream began to connect to everything. 

He had played his fair share of role-playing games, and this seemed to follow those basic rules. There was a level in the top right corner, right now, it was set to one, and a little plus sign was next to the profile and skill tabs in the menu. 

"It said I had ten PP, and I'm guessing that's for physical stats and 1 SP, which would be in the skills." 

Noah had a sudden realization. Would the changes reflect him in the real world? Thoughts about being a superhero when he was young or being stronger to fight off the bullies when he was a teenager rushed to his mind. A rush of adrenaline filled him, and he allocated his points;

STR: 16

DEX:14

INT: 10

CON: 10

CHA: 10

LK:10

A woman's voice rang out from the phone. 

"Confirmed, beginning synchronization of changes now." 

"Synchronization?-" 

Noah was forced to stop mid-sentence as his body tensed up, his muscles tore and felt like they were on fire, the feeling rushed to every nerve ending with a pulse of heat. His heartbeat could be felt in his eardrums, and soon, the sensation faded. 

He lay on the ground. His breaths were rapid as he tried to control them. A dull throb of pain pulsated through his body. As he got to his feet, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror again. 

"No effing way." 

The flat body he had barely had time to get used to had now become more defined. His abs became visible. His arms and legs had more muscle and thickness to them. 

"I have abs. I fucking have abs!" Noah exclaimed as he proceeded to do a little dance.

"Wait. None of my clothes fit." 

All his clothes were 3xl in the tops and forty-inch waistline, but who knows what size he was now since his reset. He began to dig deep in his closet and drawers to find something. 

With an extra-large t-shirt that hung off his now slim frame and size thirty-eight pants held up by some string looped around a bunch of times. He examined himself in the mirror

"I've got to go shopping for some clothes."

The thrift shop would have to wait, though, as there was still one more thing he had to look at. Skills. As he opened the menu, there were two rows of available skills, with a padlock underneath. 

"I guess stuff unlocks as I level up, but how do I do that?" 

Every icon he clicked gave more information about the skill. From what he could tell, there were two available that correspond to each physical stat. It seemed to be similar to a feat system in a video game. They were all pretty straightforward for the level one skills, stuff that would enhance or complement a stat. 

"Well, if I put my points in strength and dexterity. I should look at those skills, right?"

He couldn't help but look at the charisma skills, though. He had been awkward around people all his life and the potential chance this game could change that was alluring. He clicked on the two available. 

'Silver Tongue: You can lie your way out of anything! You gain 10%+ chance to convince anyone when you are lying or being deceitful.'

'Smooth Operator: What a charmer! No one can resist such sweet and buttery smooth words. You gain 10%+ influence when you flirt with someone.'

Noah couldn't help but smile at the second one. It would be beneficial to him, maybe allow him to ask someone out on a date for once in his life. 

"No, wait, I can't use a skill like that. Not knowing if it was me or the system would really mess with my head. I should just look at the others."

As he perused them, he found one that really caught his eye. 

'Calm Mind: Even if everything is on fire. This is fine! You gain the ability to have a calm mind in the face of danger. You gain 5%(+DEX Modifier) reaction time.'

"I feel like this would be super useful in everyday life...especially if I could become a superhero with this. Wait, what am I thinking?" 

In all the euphoria and excitement, he forgot the big thing. He had no one to talk to anymore about this. Noah found himself in front of the door once more, a door he couldn't bring himself to open. He slumped against the door. 

"What would you tell me in this situation, I wonder?" Noah's voice trembled. 

 The park in the center of the city was busy. Groups of people huddled under the trees shaded oasis to escape the heat from the sun. From such fierce rain to a sweltering hot spring day. People ran through, headphones drowning out all the noise around them. Noah had found a bench to sit on an overhanging tree branch generously shaded that. 

Noah began to reminisce about how he and his best friend used to people watch. The way the people don't realize what or who was around them watching, listening. The gossip they would share, the couple having an affair as they looked around paranoid. Or the couple on their first date, with the awkward first kiss on a park bench. 

PING

"What the?" Noah grabbed his phone, which had been on silent this whole time. 

Second Chance had opened up, and a notification window was shown on the screen. 

'Quest Received - FIRST QUEST: Defeat all the enemies'

"What?"

'Prepare yourself!'

A timer appeared, ten seconds counted down. A flash of purple, the sky darkened the trees that were green and full of life, withered and warped into twisted black wood. The people around faded into a cloud of black smoke. There was only Noah now. The heat from the summer sun was all but gone, it wasn't cold but Noah felt uncomfortable. His hair stood on end as he wandered through the empty park. 

Noah opened the app, the usual screen had changed into a map. A green arrow represented his position, alongside were red dots that flashed, and a cyan blue dot that showed further north from him. One of the red dots moved closer to his spot. 

"Is that an enemy? What the heck is going on?" Noah glanced around. 

A rustle in the bushes made Noah tense up, his eyes widened as he turned towards the sound. Towards the red dot on the map. Three figures emerged from the blackened leaves. Noah backed away, his breaths quickened and his heart began to beat through his eardrums. 

The three figures were humanoid in shape. Long arms and legs, connected to a torso where the grey leather-like skin clung to its spine and around its ribcage. There was no stomach, or neck, the head, with its long pointed ears and rotted teeth, sunk into its chest its cheeks rested against its collarbone. 

'Enemy analyzed - Ghoul' 

"What that's it? I don't get weakness or anything?" Noah exclaimed.

The center ghoul let out a guttural scream and dashed towards Noah.